Narasil
New member
From: Cody Wyoming USA
Registered: 2007-10-25
Posts: 1
This is by FAR the best website for pure memorization of Kanji that I've found. The stories of other users help immeasurably in retaining the Kanji learned.
That being said I have a not so trivial quibble as to the order in which the Kanji are presented. As I remember the word gall bladder was in one of the earliest lessons. ??
I'd like to suggest that at least the Kyoiku Kanji be placed in the first flashcards/lessons, as this will really help those trying to learn the language for practical purposes. Perhaps at the least put in an option that allows users to choose between the way the Kanji are presented now (seems to be based more on similarities between radicals?) and the most commonly used Kanji in every day use.
Thanks for your attention 
ファブリス
Administrator
From: Belgium
Registered: 2006-06-14
Posts: 4021
Website
Hi Narasil and welcome!
So, did you know about Remembering the Kanji ? If not, check out the Learn more page (^_-) The first external link will take you to the author/publisher's page, where you can download a sample PDF file, and get started with the first 300 or so kanji. The introductory chapter explains why the characters have been ordered that way, as you have noticed, they are grouped when they share a common component. This makes the task of learning the characters more manageable, with each character made of something you learned previously, and only a sub-part something new.
dwhitman
Member
From: pennsylvania
Registered: 2007-09-19
Posts: 43
Just expanding on what others have already said. Yes, the order is definitely weird - will I ever need to know gall bladder? The real power of this method is how it chunks knowledge into reusuable pieces. And every time you reuse a piece, you're also reinforcing the memory of that piece as a side benefit.
Here's an example from a set I just added to my stack.
Beckon = 招
But within this kanji, there's a piece Heisig gave me before:
Seduce = 召
So learning "beckon" also reinforces memory of "seduce", since I'm using seduce in my story for beckon. But wait! Seduce is built from two other kanji that Heisig had given me before that:
Sword = 刀 and
Mouth = 口
...and my story for seduce uses both those words. So while I was learning "beckon" today, I was invariably reviewing seduce, sword and mouth at the same time. In my mind, this is one of the biggest hidden benefits of Heisig's order.
